Andrew Hunter

The Defense Department’s Joint Rapid Acquisition Cell is responsible for coordinating the department’s effort to fill its crucial and often unanticipated operational needs. These are requirements combatant commanders and warfighters often discover they need after yearly budgets have been set. As part of our special report, The Missing Pieces of Procurement Reform, Tom Temin spoke with Andrew Hunter, director of the cell, on the Federal Drive. He explained how rapid acquisition works.

The Senate will begin debate on this year’s National Defense Authorization Act this week. Bloomberg reports a cloture vote is likely tomorrow, with a vote on approval after that. The House passed the conference report on the NDAA 270 to 156 Thursday. Andrew Hunter, senior fellow in the International Security Program and director of the Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told In Depth with Francis Rose the NDAA is a big deal every year, but this year it’s even bigger.

President-elect Donald Trump’s suggested hiring freeze on the federal workforce could have major implications for federal contractors. With possible plans to cut the size of the federal workforce through attrition and retirements, some contractors say industry may have to shoulder more of the workload, since the capability requirements won’t change even as government shrinks.